Crease cutter

ABSTRACT

A novel pressure cutting device of simple construction and improved safety to the user. It is a novel combination of handle and cutting edge, fabricated of wire. A cutting edge is formed in the wire and is confined to a rounded portion or curvature in the wire. The cutting edge is formed so as to face away from the curvature in the wire. The cutting device can be drawn across paper or any other thin and/or flexible sheet material in any desired pattern to score the paper and facilitate tearing or separation of the paper according to the scored pattern. The device is ideally suited to cut out news items from newspapers and magazines, to open packaged foods such as meats and cheese, to prepare pages in photograph albums for insertion of pictures, to cut out colored paper in any desired design, etc.

United States Patent 1 Wildman CREASE CUTTER [76] Inventor: J. Grant Wildman, Boca Beach Apts., Apt. 7,2531 S. Ocean Boulevard, Boca Raton, Fla. 33432 [22] Filed: Dec. 3, 1971 [21] App]. No.: 204,528

52 U.S. c1. .Q. ..30/164.9 51 int. Cl ..B26b 3/08 58 Field ofSearch ..30/1l6,l17,164.9,

30/314, 315, 358, 296 R, 296 A; 33/18 R; 81/9.2, 9.21; 83/6; 29/101, 115

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,051,129 10/1962 Williams 81/92 [451 June 19, 1973 [5 7] ABSTRACT A novel pressure cutting device of simple construction and improved safety to the user. It is a novel combination of handle and cutting edge, fabricated of wire. A cutting edge is formed in the wire and is confined to a rounded portion or curvature in the wire. The cutting edge is formed so as to face away from the curvature in the wire. The cutting device can be drawn across paper or any other thin and/or flexible sheet material in any desired pattern to score the paper and facilitate tearing or separation of the paper according to the scored pattern. The device is ideally suited to cut out news itemsfrom newspapers and magazines, to open packaged foods such as meats and cheese, to prepare pages in photograph albums for insertion of pictures, to cut out colored paper in any desired design, etc.

12 Claims, 11 Drawing Figures PATENTED W75 3.739.473

Fl 6] FlfLB FIG!) INVENTOR 2 J. GRANT WILDMAN 3 3 Q F H FIG. BY fag 8f 1 ATTORNEY CREASE CUTTER BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION There are countless times when one has need for a handy and simple cutting device. For example, in business there is a need to open letters and to cut out articles or portions of reports for filing. In the home, plastic food packages and boxes have to be opened daily. Furthermore, there are the news items which one wants to cut out of a newspaper or a magazine and save.

Heretofore in the prior art, most of these tasks were carried out using objects such as kitchen knives, pocket knives, scissors, letter openers, etc.. While each of the cutting jobs mentioned above may be effected using one of these cutting devices of the prior art, those devices which can be used to accomplish all of these cutting jobs, for example the knife or a pair of scissors, are potentially dangerous devices to the user, be the user an adult or a child. Letters openers, though the edges of same are dull and cannot cut, are potentially dangerous in that they are generally shaped in the form of a knife or a knife-like structure usually formed with a sharp point.

In addition to the potential danger of the prior art devices, they may have other shortcomings. Anyone who has ever used a pocket knife to attempt to cut an article out of a newspaper or a magazine has experienced the irksome problem of the knife grabbing the paper and badly tearing same all along the line of the cut. Scissors overcome this problem but are often somewhat messy in that a hole has to be punched to start the cutting procedure or a cut must be made across an article or a page that someone has not had the opportunity to read. Razor blades are highly suitable for so removing desired articles but are extremely dangerous in that the edges are very sharp and completely unprotected. Even when the razor blade is partially protected, the exposed cutting edge is still potentially dangerous due to the extreme sharpness of the blade.

Attempts have been made in the past to overcome some of the aforementioned difficulties and/or dangers by constructing various cutting devices which carry out a prescribed cutting task in the quickest and simplest manner. Most of these prior art devices involve a sharp cutting edge or a sharp point to carry out their desired purpose and thus present potential dangers to the user. Those devices in the prior art where the danger is minimized have a somewhat limited utility.

The devices illustrated in US. Pat. Nos. 42,777 and 329,019 are highly efficient devices for cutting and/or scoring paper and other flexible materials as well as cutting into food packages, etc. These devices, however, are no safer than a conventional kitchen or pocket knife since they both involve the use of an extremely sharp blade.

U.S. Pat. No. 2,881,520 discloses a very efficient type of paper-cutting knife. The patent states that this device can be used as a substitute for ordinary scissors and the like to cut off the corners of paper bags or envelopes. While the sharp cutting edge of this device is protected from contact with hands and is thus not as dangerous to the user, the ultimate uses or variety of uses of this device are limited by its structure.

US. Pat. No. 2,882,599 discloses a device specifically constructed for taking clippings or articles from magazines and newspapers. Like the other devices, it has limited utility. It is not constructed so as to be usable for easily scoring boxes or other food packages. Its use in other areas is somewhat cumbersome. For example in opening letters, cellophane food packages, etc., it would be much more cumbersome and difficult to handle than a conventional knife. Furthermore, the sharp point of this device makes it potentially dangerous for the user.

Thus, it can be seen that, while attempts have been made in the prior art to develop cutting devices which can be used with ease and simplicity and still be safe to the user, there is still a need for a device which has ease and simplicity, safety to the user, and utility in a variety of cutting jobs. As can be seen from the discussion of the prior art, it appears that there has been little or no progress in development of devices that can accomplish all of the jobs discussed and be both safe and easy to use.

The device of this invention overcomes the above problems and is able to perform all of the functions discussed above as well as many other functions. The device of this invention, due to its unique method of construction and application, is believed to be the first paper and package cutter for general and personal use which is free of all the above limitations. Due to its unique method of application, this device may also be used to make finely drawn scribes into paper for the purpose of inserting illustrative material in explicit concert with inscribed or typewritten material, thus inducing into the fields of communication a new and unique concept for use in personal communication, in education and in workaday matters as well as in the general applications referred to previously. Further, due to the unique construction and application, the instant device may be kept handy, and therefore convenient, when constructed either for use with, or as, a key ring. As such, the instant device may always be kept close at hand at all times of the day.

OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION Thus, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a novel pressure cutting device which easily scores and cuts, and/or scores for easy tearing, a variety of thin and/or flexible sheet materials.

Another object of this invention is to provide a novel device which, under a minimum of pressure, easily and neatly scores a variety of thin, flexible materials, making subsequent tearing or separation of same possible with a minimum of force and substantial elimination of ripping or tearing in any place other than the score line.

A further object of this invention is to provide a simple and efficient device for scoring cardboard or other rigid food packages making subsequent opening of same neat and easy.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a device for efficiently and neatly removing articles and- [or pictures from magazines, newspapers, or other publications.

Other objects will become apparent from a reading of the disclosure and claims.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION These and other objects are accomplished by the present invention, which invention involves the forming of a cutting device from wire. This wire is provided with a curvature or a rounded portion, this curvature or rounded portion being provided with a cutting edge facing away from the angle of the curve. The cutting edge is preferably formed so as to be confined within the rounded portion. Because of the structure of the cutting edge, the novel cutting device of this invention has the advantages that it can be used for a variety of cutting tasks; it can be drawn in almost any desired pattern along the material to be cut; and it can be carried safely in the pocket of the user without fear of the hands or clothes being cut by the device.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an elevational view of one form of the device.

FIG. 2 illustrates a slight modification of the device of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of another form of the device.

FIG. 4 is a side view of the device of FIG. 3. The side views of FIGS. 1 and 2 would be very similar to the view presented by FIG. 4.

FIG. 5 is an elevational view of another form of the device.

FIG. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5.

FIG. 7 is an elevational view of still another form of the device.

FIG. 8 is a side view of the device in FIG. 7.

FIG. 9 is an elevational view of yet another form of the device.

FIG. 10 is a side view of the device in FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an elevational view of still another form of the device. The device illustrated in this figure is in the form of a key chain. Thus, the device of this invention could be easily carried in the pocket of the user for immediate access whenever such a cutting device is needed.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The cutting edge 3 of the crease cutter is illustrated throughout the drawings, and is formed of wire 2. This wire material is provided with a rounded portion or curxature which provides the site for the cutting edge. The degree of curvature of this rounded bend preferably should be such that the edges of the wire material used immediately adjacent the rounded bend of the wire form an angle of from about 150 to about 0 and preferably an angle of about 100 to about 0. When the said edges of the wire form an angle of 0, it is understood that the edges of the wire are in a parallel position forming a U-shaped bend. When the wire is formed as a U-shape, the distance across the upper portion of the U is not critical as long as the bend in the wire is a curve rather than a sharp point.

Virtually all metals are suitable for use in forming the wire portion of the device of this invention. As long as the metal is capable of being drawn as a wire and bent to form a gentle curve, the wire is suitable for forming the instant device. The preferred metal wires are relatively soft ones.

The term soft wire as used in the specification and claims is intended to include a wire formed of any material of a hardness of up to about 350 (Brinell Hardness). The wire can be of almost any hardness below about 350 Brinell as long as the wire is shape-sustaining and can withstand the required amount of pressure to cut or score using this device while still maintaining its desired shape.

Materials suitable for forming wires within the scope of this invention include almost all conventional metal wires as well as those synthetic plastic materials which can be drawn into the form of a hard shape-sustaining wire.

Suitable metals include the stainless steels; the iron alloys; all conventional aluminum alloys as listed in Perrys Chemical Engineers Handbook, 1963 edition; the copper alloys, including copper per se; as well as the bronze; magnesium, and nickel alloys. Sultable also, but more expensive, are gold and silver and their alloys. Of course, any other metal not listed above is also suitable for use in this invention. As example of metal wires suitable for use in this invention, one can use the same types of wire found in conventional paper clips, wire-reinforced plastic clothes lines, and electrical wiring.

In addition to the metal materials suitable for use in this invention, this invention also contemplates the use of virtually all synthetic plastic materials which can be drawn or moulded into the form of a wire. The only limitation on the plastic is that it should be hard, have sufficient temperature resistance, and have sufficient shape-sustaining properties so that the wire is resistant to the pressure applied during the cutting operation. The crystalline plastics generally offer better strength characteristics than the amorphous plastics.

The plastic should preferably remain unaffected by temperatures of up to about C. Probably all conventional engineering plastics are resistant to temperatures in this range, a large number being resistant to much higher temperatures.

Plastics are unique materials from an engineering standpoint in that the same basic plastic material can be variously processed to yield plastic products of varying characteristics. Once again, the only limitation placed on suitable plastics for use in forming the wire cutting edge portion of this device is that they be hard, shape-sustaining plastics capable of holding a cutting edge and of withstanding the minimum pressure which will be applied to the instant device. Some degree of flexibility is acceptable as long as these functional criteria are met. Such a limitation is not capable of exact definition since it is dependent on both the type of plastic, the gauge of the plastic wire, the formulation of the plastic, etc.

For purposes of illustration only and with no intention or desire in limiting the class of plastics suitable for use in the instant device, the following are examples of suitable plastics.

The suitable plastics include most of the hard plastic materials sultable for plastic tooling or molding as described in Plastics Tooling (2nd edition), by M. W. Riley, Reinhold Publishing Corp., New York (1961). These plastics are generally rigid thermosetting plastics. Such thermosetting plastics include the epoxy resins (for example, bisphenol A-epichlorohydrin resins, epoxies based on peracetic acid derived diepoxides, epoxidized polybutadienes and the like), phenolic resins, polyester resins, silicone resins, etc.

The suitable plastics also include, generally, the thermoplastic materials that can be melted and/or extruded and subsequently cooled down to form a hard, shapesustaining plastic such as those described in Plastic Pipe, by Dr. C. L. Mantell, published by Noyes Development Corp., Pearl River, New York (1965). Such thermoplastic materials include polyethylene, polypropylene, cellulose acetate butyrate, high impact styrene, polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, acrylonitrile-butadiene copolymers, acrylonitrile-butadiene-styrene copoly mers, the acrylics, etc.

The wire can be of any suitable gauge. Preferably the gauge of the wire is such that it is generally less than about three thirty-seconds inch in diameter and more than about one thirty-second inch in diameter.

The wire is provided with a cutting edge which traverses at least a portion of the bent, rounded or curved portion of the wire. This cutting portion, indicated in the drawings by 3, is formed in such a manner as to face away from the angle or curvature of the wire. That is, it is formed on the outer surface of the bent, rounded or curved portion of the wire. Furthermore, this cutting edge should be so formed as to create two surfaces which run longitudinally of the wire and converge in an apex which also runs longitudinally of the wire.

The geometry of the surfaces is preferably such that they are generated by straight lines. Thus, both planar (preferred on account of simplicity of production) and non-planar surfaces are included.

In certain particularly advantageous forms of the invention, the surfaces need not define an especially narrow included angle nor do they need to converge to, a sharp point in order for the invention to perform satisfactorily. Thus, although one may hone the wire to as small an included angle as is desired, consistent with the requirement of leaving sufficient metal for adequate strength, included angles of about 30 to about 90 and more can be used. From the foregoing, it may also be seen that converge and convergent" are used in their broad sense of meeting or tending to meet in a point. Thus, although it is preferred that the surfaces converge in a point over at least part of their length, it is not essential that they do so; and it is satisfactory if they approach to within about one thirtysecond of an inch of one another or to within a distance of about half the diameter of the wire, whichever is less, over a portion of their length. When, the surfaces converge, but not to a point(i.e. terminate short of actual convergence or mutual contact), or when the angle of convergence is on the order of 30 or higher, the cutting edge is relatively dull to the touch, approximating the normal sharpness or dullness of a common table knife, butter knife or the like. This makes the device incapable of cutting the fingers, hands, etc., of the user without applying inordinate pressure, beyond what will normally be encountered in use of the device. This benefit may be further enhanced in devices where the wire includes a curved cutting portion and additional curved or non-curved, non-cutting portions; e.g., the converging surfaces are only produced in confined to) the curved cutting portion of the wire.

Where the surfaces converge over less than the length of the are which runs the length of the outer surface of the curved cutting portion of the wire, the cut ter may be drawn over the paper so that a leading portion of the wire curve which is of circular section (when viewed looking along the wire axis) contacts the paper first. This leading portion is trailed by the convergent surfaces. The device takes its name, crease-cutter, from its capability of use in this manner, although it can be used in other ways.

When functioning as a crease cutter, the device of the present invention first makes a crease in the working material, and then inside that crease makes its cut. Both of these operations are done in essentially one action of the device. Due to the gauge of the wire at the start of the edge, the material being cut is creased down and stretched in preparation for the cut. Then the thinnest portion of the cutting edge follows and cuts the sheet material along the previously formed crease.

The wire portion of the invention may include a handle portion or may be attached to a distinct handle by a suitable means. Thus, as is shown in FIGS. 1-4, the handle of the cutting device (illustrated by numeral 1) may be integral with the wire cutting edge. A length of suitable wire material can be bent upon itself in a variety of geometric shapes, several of which are illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 3, to form the handle and cutting portions of the wire. The handle portion is the portion of the wire length which is not provided with the cutting edge. In the illustrations of FIGS. 1 to 3 the wire-handle portion is encased in a conventionalsynthetic plastic tubing material, illustrated in the drawings as numeral 4. Numeral 5 in FIGS. 1 and 2 designates the point at which the ends of the wire length; overlap and which provides a place for opening the device. In FIG. 2, the device is provided with a sleeve, designated by numeral 8, which is provided to tightly encircle the parallel portions of the wire just above the cutting edge. The sleeve is provided so that when the device of the figure is opened at 5, the pressure of the opening procedure will be borne by points above the sleeve and not by the cutting edge. Otherwise the cutting edge would be weakened by repeated openings of the device. Of course the necessity of the sleeve can be overcome by so constructing the device of FIG. 2 so as to have the opening point of the device similarly located as in FIG. 1. Where this is the location of the opening" point, the pressure of repeated openings will be born by a portion of the wire other than the cutting edge, as indicated at numeral 9 in FIG. 1. In addition, the sleeve can he slid down over the cutting edge for extra protection (other than the inherent safety oF the device) if one so desires.

FIGS. 3 and 4 illustrate a further embodiment of this invention wherein the wire length is a continuous or unbroken length; in the figure the wire length is an ellipse. The cutting edge is provided at a curved portion of this continuous wire length while the remaining portion of the wire length is encased in a synthetic plastic coating which enlarges the crosssection of the handle portion.

FIGS. 5 through 11 illustrate embodiments of the invention wherein the handle portion is constructed of material other than the wire. In this connection, FIGS. 5 and 6 illustrate an embodiment of the device wherein the handle portion is constructed from a block 4 of any suitable material such as plastic, wood, etc., and in which the cutting wire is secured or embedded. The block can be provided with a ring 6 for attachment to a chain, key ring, or the like.

FIGS. 7 through 10 amplify various other forms of the handle. FIGS. 7 and 8 show a handle similar to that used in a conventional knife. FIGS. 9 through 11 show the handle in the form of a rectangular block which may include a ring A for attaching a key ring or other convenience item. Or, the block may be cast from plastic material in such a manner as to surro0nd and secure the end of a key chain 7 as shown in FIG. 11. In any event, it should be apparent that the handle, whether integral with or distinct from the cutting wire, may have any desired shape, it being preferred, however, that the handle be integral with the wire and formed in an openable, closed shape that makes it suitable for use as a key ring. The cutting device of this invention has the advantage that it can function easily and neatly without cutting through the working material. The pressure cutter of this invention is designed so that it can make a cut into but not entirely through the chosen material so that the material can then be pried open in the desired manner. Of course, the device can, with added pressure, be made to cut through the material as is done with the cutters of the prior art. Also, the device of the present invention is designed so that it can be used to crease or score relatively thick materials, for example cardboard, so that the latter can be convenientlY folded or broken along a neat line. This operation can be done easily with a minimum of pressure applied to the device and thus to the material.

One of the safety features of the present invention is the use of wire as distinguished from for example a solid metal disc or sheet provided with a cutting edge. The fact that wire is used places a limit on the amount of pressure which can be applied to the device of this invention for cutting purposes. In contradistinction, a cutting device formed of a solid metal disc or sheet permits much greater pressure to be applied to the cutting edge against the surface to be cut and thus even a dull edge may be hazardous. Still another safety feature of this invention is the confinement of the cutting edge to the curvature in the wire. Thus, there is no extended cutting surface to pose a potential hazard to the user. Still another safety feature of this invention lies in the angle of the cutting edge itself. The angle of the cutting edge itself is euch that the vertex or point of the angle defines an adequately sharp edge for cutting in the manner discussed previously, but yet the same edge can be dull to the touch of the user.

A further, and no less significant, advantage of the device of the present invention is its simplicity of construction and correspondingly its simplicity of manu facturing.

It cannot be emphasized enough that the cutting device of the present invention overcomes virtually all objections to the small, hand-held sheet material cutting devices previously disclosed. If one wants to remove an article or picture from a magazine or newspaper, one can, using the device of the present invention, cut out same without the necessity of punching a hole in the newspaper or cutting through the page to get to the desired article or picture (as would be necessary using scissors or the device of U.S. Pat. No. 2,882,599) and without running the risk of the cutting edge grabbing and tearing the paper along the cutting line (as is often experienced when using a sharp knife or a sharp point). Furthermore the safety features of the device of the present invention discussed above, make the device of this invention clearly desirable over the cutters of the prior art in that there is virtually no danger to a user from a cut or puncture from the device of this invention.

Generally, the device of this invention can be used on the desk of a business man or secretary as a letter opener and/or for the clipping of news items of interest. It can be used in the kitchen to open packaged items precisely, and it can be carried in the pocket on a key ring, or constructed as a key ring (see FIG. 11 of the drawings), for ready use as a general cutter.

More specifically the pressure cutting device of the present invention can be used in a variety of ways such as: providing splits in pages of picture albums for insertion of pictures; for cutting out of paper identification strips; for cutting various and precise designs from colored paper; to score heavy duty paper fon creasing along the score line for a variety of uses such as forming folders; for all newspaper and magazine article extractions; for opening plastic wrapped cheeses, meats and produce; for cutting the paper away from metal spouts in pour containers; for scoring cardboard packages to make them easy to open; for opening letters and other packaged mail, etc. These uses are only examples of the utilitY of the device of the present invention and serve in no way to limit the potential uses thereof.

Having thus described the invention, I claim:

I. A pressure cutting, scoring or scoring and then cutting device comprising a handle means, and, attached thereto, a hard, shape-sustaining wire capable of withstanding sufficient pressure to cut, score or score and then cut, said wire having therein a rounded bend section, the central portion of said rounded bend section having a cutting edge formed therein on the outer portion of said rounded bend section so as to face away from said angle of said rounded bend section, a portion of the wire immediately adjacent the cutting edge being arcuate in cross-section.

2. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein the edges of said wire immediately adjacent said rounded bend section forming an angle .of from about to an angle of 0, the latter angle being such that said ends of said wire are in a parallel position forming a U-shaped bend.

3. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire-has aBrinell Hardness of less than about 350.

4. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire is a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, nickel, gold, silver, zinc, their alloys and steels of a Brinnel Hardness of less than about 250.

5. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire is an ex'trudable or moldable, hard and shapesustaining plastic material which material is capable of holding a cutting edge.

6. The device of claim 1 wherein said cutting edge includes two surfaces, which converge but which terminate short of mutual contact.

7. The device of claim 1 wherein said handle means is formed from said wire by bending said wire in such a manner as to form a closed geometric figure, said figure being held in the hand of the user.

8. The device of claim 7 wherein said geometric figure is selected from the group consisting of a square, a rectangle, a triangle, and an ellipse.

9. The device of claim 7 wherein said geometric figure is formed in a continuous unbroken length from said wire.

10. The device of claim 7 wherein said wire in said geometric figure is encased in a synthetic plastic covering material except at said cutting edge.

11. The device of claim 1 wherein said wire is of a cross-sectional diameter of more than about one thirtysecond of an inch and less than about three thirtyseconds of an inch.

12. The device of claim 1 wherein said handle means comprises a solid block of a size sufiicient to be conveniently held in the hand.

I I I i 

1. A pressure cutting, scoring or scoring and then cutting device comprising a handle means, and, attached thereto, a hard, shape-sustaining wire capable of withstanding sufficient pressure to cut, score or score and then cut, said wire having therein a rounded bend section, the central portion of said rounded bend section having a cutting edge formed therein on the outer portion of said rounded bend section so as to face away from said angle of said rounded bend section, a portion of the wire immediately adjacent the cutting edge being arcuate in cross-section.
 2. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein the edges of said wire immediately adjacent said rounded bend section forming an angle of from about 100* to an angle of 0*, the latter angle being such that said ends of said wire are in a parallel position forming a U-shaped bend.
 3. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire has a Brinell Hardness of less than about
 350. 4. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire is a metal selected from the group consisting of aluminum, copper, nickel, gold, silver, zinc, their alloys and steels of a Brinnel Hardness of less than about
 250. 5. The pressure cutting device of claim 1 wherein said wire is an extrudable or moldable, hard and shape-sustaining plastic material which material is capable of holding a cutting edge.
 6. The device of claim 1 wherein said cutting edge includes two surfaces, which converge but which terminate short of mutual contact.
 7. The device of claim 1 whereIn said handle means is formed from said wire by bending said wire in such a manner as to form a closed geometric figure, said figure being held in the hand of the user.
 8. The device of claim 7 wherein said geometric figure is selected from the group consisting of a square, a rectangle, a triangle, and an ellipse.
 9. The device of claim 7 wherein said geometric figure is formed in a continuous unbroken length from said wire.
 10. The device of claim 7 wherein said wire in said geometric figure is encased in a synthetic plastic covering material except at said cutting edge.
 11. The device of claim 1 wherein said wire is of a cross-sectional diameter of more than about one thirty-second of an inch and less than about three thirty-seconds of an inch.
 12. The device of claim 1 wherein said handle means comprises a solid block of a size sufficient to be conveniently held in the hand. 